“Live Stop” Program Cuts Down Insurance Premiums in Philadelphia

Around 7:10 a.m., you get in the car to drive your daughter to school. As you back out of the driveway, a passing vehicle unexpectedly swipes your rear fender. Thankfully, you and your daughter are both unharmed. The driver gets out, and while friendly, casually tells you that he has no insurance to give you and that he can’t pay for the damage. You feel a headache coming on, but you’re just thankful that no one was hurt.

While this may seem like an extreme circumstance, this happens all too often in a city as large as Philadelphia. This is why the “Live Stop” program was put in place by our Commonwealth. The program protects you in situations just like this one.

In the year 2000, Pennsylvania state law mandated that the City of Philadelphia seize all cars from anyone driving illegally. The goals of the “Live Stop” program are to lower accident rates and insurance costs, making our streets safer for all Philadelphians. Over 250,000 cars have been impounded to date.

This means people who drive uninsured, with an expired license, or without registration are penalized for endangering others. When these people are involved in accidents, they are often unable to pay for the damages done to innocent parties and Philadelphian taxpayers are left to foot the bill. Many Philadelphians want to know if the program works.

Absolutely. For the past thirteen years, the Philadelphia Police Department, with our help, has successfully lowered the number of illegal drivers in our city. Car accidents involving uninsured and unregistered drivers have gone down. Philadelphia auto-insurance costs to legal drivers have declined, much to the delight of those paying monthly or quarterly car insurance premiums.

The number of cars seized has been declining each year. So what do all of these signs mean? The “Live Stop” program is successfully deterring illegal and uninsured drivers.

What Happens During a Live Stop?

The wellbeing of Philadelphians is paramount to what we do, day in and day out. If thepolice deem a driver illegal and the PPA impounds the car, the driver isn’t left stranded. The violator receives transportation. (You can read about the terms of the above law here.) But rest assured, the city has the best interests of the people in mind. We all have to do the seemingly little things to make our city safer than the day before. This is our duty as proud Philadelphians.

To comply with the law, please remember to keep your license and registration up to date and stay insured. It’ll make a safer, more pleasant driving experience for everyone.